In connection with retail purchase transactions, consumers have a choice as to what form they wish to make their payment. The payment can be made in cash if the customer so wishes and has sufficient funds on hand. The payment can also be made using a debit card which deducts the payment amount from an account of the customer which is associated with the debit card being used. Typically, debit cards are linked to a prepaid account or a checking account. Many payments are made by credit card, and it is not uncommon for a customer to carry multiple credit cards as well as one or more debit cards and some cash. It is possible that the customer may, in some circumstances, spread a charge across a number of credit cards and debit cards, with or without a partial cash payment. What is apparent, however, is that the customer has discretion as to what mode to make the payment.
Now it happens to be that purchase transactions that are completed with credit or debit cards subject retailers to commissions that the retailer must pay to the institutions that underwrite payment systems such as VISA®, MasterCard®, American Express®, The Discover Card®. These commissions are generally not visible to the customer, yet retailers can incur fees for accepting these payment mechanisms of up to several percentage points of the entire purchase transaction.
Some retail have their own branded credit cards and provide incentives to customers in order to get the customer to accept and use the retailer's credit card. Third-party transaction fees can be greatly reduced when a customer uses that card instead of some other payment system. However, encouraging the customer to present that card for payment in lieu of other cards is a challenge that retailers continuously face.
While customers may carry on their persons multiple payment systems including retailer-branded cards, the customer retains discretion as to which card to remove from his or her wallet and use at a point of sale. At best, a sales clerk can suggest use of a retailer-branded card or cash, but the customer is the only party that knows which options in his or her wallet are viable or appropriate for a given purchase transaction.
What is needed in the art is an improved gateway between a customer and a point of sale terminal that can assist a customer in completing a purchase transaction in view of the customer's payment options. What would be of further assistance in the art is such a gateway that can assist a retailer in maximizing its profit objective based on at least partial knowledge of the customer's payment options.